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Soul
' Souls' (魂魄（こんぱく), Konpaku) refers to the spiritual beings that reside in the Rukongai area of Soul Society and the spirits of dead Humans in the World of the Living. While many Souls are deceased Humans from the Human World, it is known that they can be born within Soul Society as well. Plus Pluses (整 (プラス), Purasu; Viz: Wholes) are the benign ghosts in the Human World. They are the spirit of a person who has died. A chain, known as the Chain of Fate, protrudes from the chest an connects the soul to its living body. When this chain is severed, the soul can no longer return to its body and live. The soul can move about freely if the chain is broken, but this also causes the chain to slowly corrode. Normally, pluses are sent to Soul Society by Shinigami in a ritual called Konsō before this corrosion becomes significant. If the Chain of Fate is corroded entirely, the Plus will become a Hollow. Chain of Fate The Chain of Fate plays a part in the form a spirit will take on after death. A spirit whose regrets revolve around a person has its chain bound to that person and becomes an "obsessed spirit"; if the spirit's regrets involve a location, or if some incident happened at that location which caused its death, the spirit's chain will be bound to that location and it would become an "earthbound spirit" or Jibakurei. A person who has had their spirit removed from their living body will experience a great pain coming from the chain and might feel the need to break it. Breaking the chain, however, would render the soul unable to return to its physical body. A Shinigami can return a spirit to a body using healing Kidō if the chain is intact and if the separation hasn't lasted for too long. Encroachment Encroachment or corrosion is the process of a Plus (Soul) gradually losing its Chain of Fate. The process physically begins the moment the body dies and the Chain of Fate is broken. The Encroachment usually lasts months or even years, although a special gas exists that can speed up the process to a mere 72 hours. With every cycle of the Encroachment, the furthest link in the chain begins to gnash and chew into itself and the links attached to it. The process cannot be halted by any known means - any attempt to do so would end in a nasty bite. During each cycle, the Plus experiences excruciating pains, the worst of which come with the final cycle which is much more powerful than those before. During this cycle, all the remaining links undergo the Encroachment at once. Shinigami The Saketsu (鎖結, Binding Chain) on a Shinigami is just as important as the Chain of Fate is on a Plus. While there is no chain per se connected to a Shinigami, the area where the Chain of Fate was originally is still just as important as when the Shinigami was a simple soul. In a Shinigami, the Saketsu acts as a boost to spiritual power, in conjunction with the Hakusui (魄睡, Soul Sleep), the source of spiritual power. These two points are commonly considered pressure points. If they are pierced, they seal up this spiritual power, and the Shinigami will lose all their power. The Shinigami who experiences this will never be a Shinigami again. Jibakurei A Jibakurei (地縛霊, Earth-bound Spirit) is a spirit who is not able to leave the Human World that easily because he or she regrets leaving something behind. For example, if the Soul is bound to a place, he or she will stay at this place and refuse to pass on to Soul Society. A Jibakurei is more vulnerable to a Hollow, as being bound to a certain area prevents them from fleeing as far as a normal Plus. This means that the Hollow would only need to search in a small area to find them. It can take months or even years for a Jidakurei to become a Hollow Hollow main article: Hollow All Hollows were once Pluses which have lost their heart and become beings of pure instinct. The longer a Plus lingers in the Human World, its Chain of Fate erodes by growing small mouths that eat away at itself. This process, called Encroachment, is painful and starts out slow, but the final erosion is much more violent and finally the chain is completely gone and a hole opens in their chest where their heart used to be. At this point, the Soul's body disperses into spirit particles and then reforms nearby as a Hollow. The body usually forms first, followed by the mask. The Hollow's lost heart it its mask and their unique appearance as well as its special abilities. There are other ways to force Hollowfication, such as prying open the hole in a Plus' chest by force. Arrancar Main article: Arrancar An Arrancar is a Hollow that has removed its mask, thus gaining Shinigami-like powers and taking on a more humanoid form. Neo-Arrancar Main article: Neo-Arrancar A type of Arrancar that's artificially created for a specific purpose. Their powers are often customly designed by their creators, however this is not always the case. Currently only Las Noches has the capability of creating Neo-Arrancar. Shinigami Main article: Shinigami Shinigami are spiritual beings that are responsible for regulating the balance of Souls between the Human World and Soul Society. They act by sending Pluses to the Soul Society by Soul Burial and they are also responsible for fighting and purifying Hollows with their Zanpakutō. Some Souls have spiritual power which can enable them to enter the Shin'ō Academy to become Shinigami. Artificial Souls Artificial souls are souls designed by Shinigami scientists to separate a Shinigami's spirit from a Gigai, or to evict stubborn spirits from their corpses if necessary. It is commonly called Soul Candy, as the Shinigami Women's Association complained that the name "Artificial Soul" was not cute and had it changed.